San Diego Unified School District is under fire for its LGBTQIA+ curriculum which teaches there are nine genders and 30 sexualities
A San Diego school district is under fire for providing a curriculum that teaches young students about nine genders and 30 sexual orientations.
Parents have objected to a slideshow featured on the San Diego Unified Schools (SDUS) website entitled ‘LGBTQIA+ Terms you should know‘.
The resources outlined definitions for nine gender identities including transgender, non-binary, genderfluid and agender.
The slides also included a graphic showcasing more than 30 ‘LGBTQ Youth Sexual Orientations’ including graysexual, queer, asexual and pansexual.
SDUS is the second largest district in California and services more than 121,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
It is unclear what grade level the slide show was presented to but the SDUS website states LGBTQIA+ education begins in elementary school.
Parental rights group Defending Education slammed the SDUS as, ‘another example of ideological capture in K-12’.
‘Education is not compatible with a district that believes or even entertains the idea that there are 9 different gender identities and 28 sexual orientations,’ the organization’s senior director of communications, Erika Sanzi, told the Washington Times.
‘This lunacy must end or trust will be lost forever.’
The 28 figure referenced by the group refers to sexualities outside heterosexual and homosexual.
Defending Education describe themselves as a ‘a national grassroots organization working to restore schools at all levels from activists imposing harmful agenda’.
They pride themselves on opposing ‘indoctrination’ in the classroom, per their website.
According to the San Diego Unified School district website, LGBTQIA-inclusive curriculum starts as young as elementary school.
SDSU explains on its website that it begins teaching about sexual identity and gender to counteract harmful stereotypes.
‘At a very young age, children have been introduced to information about LGBTQIA+ people, which is often based on misinformation and negative stereotypes,’ the school board states in another curriculum packet.
The controversial material was included on a slideshow entitled ‘LGBTQIA+ Terms you should know’
A sample of the curriculum which parents are taking offense at
The packet aimed at kids was titled: ‘It’s Lit Jr: A culturally relevant curriculum module rooted in social justice and common core standards.’
‘When adults are silent about LGBTQIA+ people, students learn from this omission that it is acceptable to use homophobic and transphobic put-downs.’
Defending Education said that SDUS also provided parents and families with post-election support following the 2024 presidential election, self-care for LGBTQ youth and an ‘Allyship Action Guide’.
The district boasts a vast Ethnic Studies program which values ‘celebrating histories and centering cultures of marginalized groups.’
SDUS cited Title IX laws as their reason for robust anti-discriminatory education.
San Diego Unified School District superintendent Dr. Fabi Bagula leads a pro-LGBTQIA+ district
The civil rights law enacted in 1972 prohibited sex-based discrimination. According to the California Department of Education, this law applies to transgender students and ‘students who do not conform to gender stereotypes.’
Sanzi, however, pointed to Donald Trump’s recent executive order which pulled funding for ‘illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology’.
‘It’s hard to see how these programs and resources don’t run afoul of the Trump administration’s executive orders,’ said Sanzi. ‘They are steeped in gender ideology.’
The Daily Mail contacted the school district for comment.
Written by Jensen Bird for The Daily Mail ~ December 13, 2025